Meaning & Analysis
Do not assign a wolf, a natural predator, the task of protecting a sheep, as the wolf will inevitably harm or kill it.
Insights
Misplaced Trust
Warns against placing trust in individuals or entities whose inherent nature or interests are fundamentally opposed to the well-being of what they are supposed to protect.
Conflict of Interest
Highlights the folly of ignoring obvious conflicts of interest, suggesting that certain individuals are predictably unsuited for roles requiring guardianship or impartiality due to their predatory instincts.
Inherent Natures
Illustrates the principle that one cannot change the essential character of a person. A predator cannot be made a guardian, and to believe otherwise is a dangerous act of self-deception.
Vulnerability and Exploitation
Serves as a caution about vulnerability and exploitation, advising that placing assets, power, or dependents in the hands of a known adversary is an invitation for disaster.
Cultural Archetypes
The proverb draws on the ancient symbolic opposition of the wolf (predator, deceit) and the sheep (innocence, vulnerability), archetypes deeply embedded in Western agrarian and religious traditions, including biblical parables like the 'wolf in sheep's clothing'.
Literary and Political Resonance
Its classical roots, confirmed by the citation from Erasmus, and its frequent use by Shakespeare in contexts of political and personal betrayal, underscore its role as a timeless warning against appointing untrustworthy individuals to positions of power.
Psychological Warning
The proverb serves as a psychological corrective to wishful thinking and confirmation bias, warning against the naive hope that a person will act against their fundamental nature or self-interest, a common error in judgment.
Rhetorical Devices
Symbolism
The wolf and sheep serve as powerful, universally understood symbols for predator and prey, or exploiter and vulnerable, making the proverb's meaning instantly accessible.
Antithesis
The proverb creates a stark and memorable contrast between the protective role of a 'shepherd' and the destructive nature of the 'wolf', heightening the sense of absurdity and danger.
Metaphor
The entire phrase functions as a potent metaphor for any situation involving a foolish delegation of trust to an untrustworthy party.
Imperative Mood
Phrased as a direct command ('Give not...'), the proverb has a forceful, didactic tone that strengthens its cautionary impact.
Transcription
Quotations
Ovem lupo commisisti.
But like a simple man he committed the silly sheep to the ravening wolf.
Woe to .. the Lambes that are nurst of the Wolfe.
To giue the sheepe to the wolfe to keepe.
(Give never the).
A man must not make a wolfe a shepheard.
(You have given the).
[As in 1616 Dr.].
To make the woolf ones shepheard, viz. to trust in ones enemy.
(Give never the).
(You give the).
You have set the .. wolf to keep the sheep.
(To give a Wolf).
Oh you Jade, you set the Wolf to keep the Sheep.
[As in 1639 Cl.].
Shakespeare Citations
And were't not madness then To make the fox surveyor of the fold?
Alas, poor Proteus! thou hast entertain'd A fox to be the shepherd of thy lambs.
Come you to seek the lamb here of the fox?
Cross References
- See DÜR., I, no. 254.
- F643 He sets the fox to keep the geese.
Annotations
- You have entrusted a thing to one who will lose it, spoil it, or use it himself.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.